A Soul of Ash and Blood

Jennifer Armentrout’s epic fantasy romance series takes its name from the series’ first book, From Blood and Ash (2020). Preceded by A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (2020), The Crown of Gilded Bones (2021), and The War of Two Queens (2022), A Soul of Ash and Blood is the fifth book in the series, with at least two subsequent novels planned. The series includes a compendium novel and one spinoff series (Flesh and Fire), with more potential spinoff series discussed by Armentrout.

The series follows the evolution of Penellaphe Balfour and Casteel Da’Neer’s romantic relationship as they face political turmoil and a developing war between the two main kingdoms in the known world. Poppy is from Solis, ruled by the oppressive vampry (vampire-like creatures) called Ascended and Queen Ileana (Isbeth). She experiences a controlled and abusive adolescence as Solis’s Maiden, where she is lied to about her identity, parentage, and destiny. The Kingdom of Atlantia is ruled by a mixed monarchy, Atlantians (fast, strong creatures with long lifespans and various bloodlines) and wolven (werewolf-like creatures), who hope to expand their territory and bring peace to the mortals in Solis. Cas and Poppy fall in love, marry, and become King and Queen of Atlantia just as Poppy discovers she is the Primal God of Life and Death, a powerful ruler of the gods. All books in the Blood and Ash series explore themes of identity, destiny, moral and ethical dilemmas, and complexities in love.

Cas spends much of The War of Two Queens imprisoned and tortured by Isbeth, his second incarceration by the Blood Queen. Poppy grows close to Kieran Contou as they fight Solis’s army, rescue Cas, and learn more about Poppy’s heritage and relationship to the gods, especially Nyktos and Seraphena, her Primal grandparents. Poppy learns that she can “dreamwalk” with Cas; they can see, feel, and communicate with each other as they sleep. Poppy kills Isbeth, her biological mother, only to discover that her war with various gods (especially Kolis, Nyktos’s uncle) is just beginning. Isbeth created Poppy with Ires, her heartmate Malec’s twin brother, to end humanity as it currently exists and reshape the realms. Isbeth did so with the help of Callum, an ancient Revenant (a species who cannot be killed and is immune to most magical attacks) loyal to Kolis. Callum’s location remains unknown at the end of The War of Two Queens, though his Revenant army presents a problem for the Atlantians invading Solis. Poppy, Cas, and Kieran complete the Joining, a ritual that involves drinking each other’s blood and having sex, allowing Poppy to share her immortality with the men. Poppy learns that Millicent, Isbeth’s closest Revenant Handmaiden, is her older sister and Malik’s heartmate (soulmate). Millicent served as the Maiden before Poppy, though she nearly died during her Ascension. While Malik appears to be a traitor in The Crown of Gilded Bones, his loyalty is with Atlantia, though Cas and Poppy hesitate to trust him. Nektas, Nyktos’s bonded draken (a dragon-like creature), helps Poppy, Cas, and Kieran prepare to battle with the gods.